1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems for refilling inkjet printer cartridges. More specifically, this invention relates to an integrated system that includes a series of stations and methods for writing data to a customizable Smart-chip in order to configure the Smart-chip to be properly recognized in an inkjet printer and thus to maintain functionality provided by a properly configured Smart-chip.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the personal and business computer market, inkjet printers are very common. Inkjet printers are inexpensive, quiet, fast and produce high quality output. However, replacement cartridges can be expensive. Although some manual inkjet refilling kits are available, they can be difficult and messy for individuals to use, and inkjet printer cartridges may become damaged during the refilling task, especially when performed by inexperienced users. Many inkjet cartridges use Smart-chips to control ink usage and other parameters of the inkjet cartridge and to properly identify an inkjet cartridge to the inkjet printer. A Smart-chip is an active electronic device that resides on an inkjet cartridge and communicates information, generally bi-directionally, with the inkjet printer and stores and provides various pieces of information about the inkjet cartridge and inkjet cartridge status to and from the inkjet printer. In order to achieve sufficient functionality, inkjet cartridge remanufacturers are often required to reset or replace these Smart-chips installed on the inkjet cartridges when an inkjet cartridge is refilled by the remanufacturer. Resetting a Smart-chip refers to the action of restoring the Smart-chip, and its various memory and other elements, to a state in which the printer will accept the replacement cartridge (with a reset Smart-chip) as if it were essentially the same as it would expect for a new replacement OEM inkjet cartridge. When resetting of a Smart-chip is not possible, a remanufacturer must replace the Smart-chip with an aftermarket Smart-chip that has the required functionality. The remainder of this specification will disclose an improved method for replacing Smart-chips on inkjet cartridges. Replacing such Smart-chips enables the cartridge to be refilled with ink when empty and, with this Smart-chip having been replaced, to perform substantially the same as a new cartridge. Such replacement Smart-chips have been available to assist in the inkjet cartridge remanufacturing industry for many years.
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of printer and imaging products, such as Lexmark®, Canon®, Hewlett Packard® and the like, make the replacement inkjet cartridges that fit their respective inkjet printers. Each printer manufacturer designs its printers to accept inkjet cartridges manufactured by it, and oftentimes designs electronic devices, commonly referred to as Smart-chips, into the cartridge to insure proper functionality of the inkjet cartridge in the printer. These Smart-chips also generally serve to lockout replacement or aftermarket inkjet cartridges that were refilled or remanufactured by others. By reverse engineering these Smart-chip designs, solutions to either reset or to make an aftermarket equivalent Smart-chip have been developed.
Many customers prefer to refill their own printer cartridges in order to save costs. However, such refilling operations have been hampered because such refilled cartridges may not operate properly in a printer because the printer checks for the status of certain data within the Smart-chip on the inkjet cartridge, and which data can be unacceptable to the printer's firmware after refilling a previously emptied inkjet cartridge. Printer manufacturers also prefer to sell new inkjet cartridges to replace empty cartridges. Therefore, they do not generally support the remanufacturing industry for printer cartridges, for example, by providing the capability and methodology to reset these Smart-chips when a cartridge is refilled or by providing replacement Smart-chips. Thus, companies such as Microtec Technology Printing Co. (Guangdong, China), Static Control Components (North Carolina, USA) and Well Da Elec-Technology Co., Ltd (Shenzen, China) now manufacture Smart-chip resetting tools and/or replacement Smart-chips that either reset a Smart-chip to a like-new state or mimic the original Smart-chip on an inkjet cartridge and thus enable an inkjet cartridge to be refilled by a refilling machine and/or company differing from the original manufacturer. Such a replacement Smart-chip enables the cartridge to be re-filled with ink when empty and, with this replacement Smart-chip having been installed, to perform substantially the same as a new cartridge.
Generally, a unique Smart-chip is developed for each specific model and color of inkjet cartridge. Each unique cartridge type or model has a specific Smart-chip and specific stock keeping unit (“SKU”) to distinguish one cartridge from another. This also means that each and every unique inkjet cartridge SKU generally requires its own unique replacement Smart-chip SKU. Within a given series or family of cartridges, for example those used together in a printer, there are often many unique cartridge SKUs, thus resulting in many unique Smart-chip SKUs. For example, inkjet cartridges within a family or series can vary by color, amount of ink or other key parameters. In some embodiments, the colors are yellow, black, cyan and magenta. In other embodiments, there are more colors, for example, black, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, light magenta, gray and light gray.
Additionally, each color and type of cartridge may be available in one or more ink capacities or ink volume, for example, normal and extra large. The result of all of these variations in inkjet cartridge SKUs is that a remanufacturer must maintain a large inventory of each unique Smart-chip SKU and must also develop processes to account for and install this wide variety of virtually identical Smart-chip SKUs. For example, for the Hewlett Packard HP02 inkjet cartridge family, twelve unique Smart-chip SKUs are required to support the entire family or series—one for each of the six colors and with each color having two unique ink volume cartridge SKUs.
In a retail store environment for remanufacturing of inkjet cartridges, this Smart-chip SKU proliferation and related issues are multiplied by the number of retail locations and the number of operators that are performing refill operations. For example, each site will require inventory of each Smart-chip SKU, along with processes for distinguishing between and installing these many Smart-chip SKU types that are understandable to the many operators at each retail site location. For a retail chain with hundreds or even thousands of locations, the impact of a large number of replacement Smart-chip SKUs can therefore be very significant.